NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Henry Ford once said “the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”

With a starting lineup that features a freshman, three sophomores and one junior, every time they hit the court is a learning experience for the Lipscomb Lady Bisons basketball team. Mistakes are going to be made. And coach Greg Brown and his staff will make sure they learn from them.

Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena the Purple and Gold officially opened the season with an 82-77 loss to Morehead State from the Ohio Valley Conference. It was the regular season opener for both teams.

“That is the difference in having some freshmen and then having your starting point guard (Maya Dillard) foul out,” Brown said. “They have two All-Conference OVC players.

“That is just the truth. You can’t make up for experience. We have to speed the learning curve up some. That will be a challenge for us.”

With three seconds left in regulation guard Sara Bliss sank a 3-pointer from the corner to knot the score at 69-69.

“That is what Sara can do,” Brown said. “She was playing the point and had a lot of responsibilities at the end.”

Free throws were a crucial stat in the game for the Lady Bisons, but Morehead State’s shooting from the line made the difference in the overtime period.

Senior guard Terrice Robinson, a preseason All-OVC selection, sank seven of eight free throws in the final five minutes. She finished with a game-high 38 points, with 17 from free throws.

The Lady Bisons were 46.9 percent from the free throw line, hitting 23-of-49, but often missed in crucial situations. That is part of the learning curve for the young Lady Bisons.

“We are a good free throw shooting team,” Brown said. “That was probably less about mechanics and more about nerves.

"There were a lot of freshmen and a lot of first time experiences in their first game. It was more attributable to that than it was mechanics.”

Despite the loss, there were several bright spots for the Lady Bisons. Forward Ashley Southern led the team with 25 points and added a game-high 18 rebounds for a double-double.

“We told Ashley after the game that she is capable of averaging that,” Brown said. “She has a ton of potential. We are excited about her.”

Forward Alex Banks scored 18 points followed by Bliss with 15, three-of-six from 3-point range; and Dillard with 13. Banks also had a double-double with 11 boards.

Also in double figures for Morehead State were guard Almesha Jones, a preseason All-OVC pick, with 13 points and 11 rebounds; and guard Shanice Parker with 12 points.

The Lady Bisons out-rebounded Morehead State 55-48. But they made 21 turnovers compared to 12 by Morehead State.

“The turnovers weren’t atrocious, but the ones we made were costly because we were trying to do too many things too fast,” Brown said. “I thought our ability to make some plays, and our ability at the end to execute with no timeouts and find Sara were huge.

“There were a lot of good things. We are not done adding to our team. We are going to have different depth coming in. it is a great opportunity for these players to get experience and learn how to close one out.”

The Lady Bisons don’t have much time to dwell on the loss. They will practice at Lipscomb Monday before heading south to UAB in Birmingham, Ala., for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday night. Thursday night they are back home at Allen Arena for the women’s version of the “Battle of the Boulevard” with Belmont.

“I think the quick turnaround is good for us,” Brown said. “We will come in and have a good practice Monday and then see if we can execute in a game setting. Against UAB we have to defend penetration and look at our rebounding angles. It is those same fundamentals that we need more reps on.

“Then we have another quick turnaround with Belmont. Then we will get some time off to come back and correct things.”